Maurice got out of his car. Police don’t like it when drivers do that, and he certainly had enough experience with cops to know that. But he thought he was in big trouble again and had already told Marisa she’d never see him again, so he did what he felt like. He exited his vehicle, as the police would say. Wilson approached on foot, with one hand on his holster, as protocol required.
There have been a number of shootings in Austin when a police officer has shot an unarmed man, claiming the victim had moved in a threatening manner or was holding something that looked like a gun. Usually, after an internal investigation, the cop is cleared. The chief finds a justification for the shooting; the family of the dead man raises a ruckus; life moves on. But to be on the safe side, Art Acevedo had ordered dashboard cameras installed in all police cruisers so that even minor traffic stops could be recorded.
The dash camera in Wilson’s car was running.
At this point, Marisa says she began wildly texting her father, who didn’t respond. She texted Reyna, who, in turn, texted Maurice and got no answer. “I think they’re after him,” her husband said. Pierce didn’t answer these texts for a simple reason, because instead of standing by his car waiting, he did what he always did when he was in trouble: He ran.
Frank Wilson pursued on foot, Smith following close behind in the cruiser.
When asked, Ron Lara will admit that the Cold Case Unit had certainly kept up with Maurice; they knew where he lived, what jobs he’d held, what kind of car he drove and, of course, all about his troubles in Collin County. Maybe they were still hoping to make a Yogurt Shop deal with him before he went on trial for the assault, but Lara and other officers insisted they weren’t actively tracking him. As for Frank Wilson, he hadn’t lived in Austin at the time of the murders, the arrests or the trials, so the name Maurice Pierce meant nothing to him. He was simply pursuing someone who’d aroused his suspicion by running from a straightforward traffic stop.
Everybody I’ve talked to or who was quoted in the press thinks Wilson was telling the truth. It all happened so fast, and the night was dark. Even people who don’t believe in coincidences think maybe this might be the exception.
In no time, Wilson caught up with the runner and they tussled. Wilson wore a utility knife on his duty belt for backup, and Pierce grabbed for it.
Aside from the policemen’s testimony and the dash-cam video, you can’t really tell what happened. There were no witnesses, and while the dash camera captured the struggle, details are fuzzy. What is clear is that at some point Maurice snatched Wilson’s knife from his belt and slashed the right side of his neck, nicking his carotid artery. Pierce then ran off, but before falling to the ground, the officer grabbed his revolver and fired one round.
Maurice Pierce made it through a few front yards before collapsing in a driveway only a block or so from his sister’s home.
Renee Reyna says she heard the pop.
Smith called for assistance and applied pressure to Wilson’s neck to stanch the blood flow. An ambulance arrived within minutes. Transporters from the ME’s office soon zipped Maurice in a body bag and drove him to the morgue. On the Christmas Eve news, a man who lived nearby told a reporter that he’d heard a gunshot and had gone to his front door and looked out in time to see a man fall into a driveway and not get up. When the station’s video camera panned the neighborhood, you could see Christmas lights in the windows of every house.
Five hours after the shooting, a detective came to Carrera Lane to tell Reyna that a police officer had shot a man they were almost certain was her brother.
After a night in intensive care, Frank Wilson was released; he went home to spend the holidays with his family.
Victims’ Services sent e-mails to the families of the four girls that evening to inform them of the shooting before they read about it in the paper or heard it on TV. One girl’s father texted his ex-wife to say, “Ding Dong the witch is dead!”
On Christmas Day, the Statesman’s lead story was headlined YOGURT SHOP SUSPECT DIES IN SHOOTING. There were photos of Pierce, Wilson and Smith, and a map of the area where the traffic stop and shooting had occurred.
Five months later, on May 22, 2011, the Statesman ran another front-page story—headlined WHO WAS MAURICE PIERCE?—which was accompanied by the photo taken the day he was released from jail in 2003, when, in his loose white T-shirt and blue jeans, he sprinted away from reporters. That was the day before he wished the press and the city of Austin “Godspeed.” The paper then told Maurice’s story, mostly from his family’s perspective. Ever since the Yogurt Shop arrest, they said, his life was about the murders and nothing else. He couldn’t get work or sign a lease without somebody saying, Aren’t you the one…He was afraid of the police and saw them coming after him everywhere, even when the family took trips out of the state. Marisa said she tried to convince her father to live within the limits of the law and that if he was ever pulled over, he should simply “take the ticket” and move on. But that’s something he would never do.
On September 22, 2011, after a Travis County grand jury declined to indict Frank Wilson, investigative details were revealed that, as the Statesman put it, shed new light on Pierce’s mind-set the night he died. Apparently, after having dinner with a nephew, he’d gone to the apartment of a woman who provided police with a written statement saying that she and Maurice had been in an intimate and tumultuous relationship off and on for six months, but she’d pretty much ended it because of his fierce fits of jealousy, which once had led him to strike her in the face. On December 23, he’d arrived, uninvited, at her house around six-thirty and had begun drinking and “getting very jealous.” When he got out of line, she’d poured a can of beer over his head. He’d left at about ten. Among the papers sent to the grand jury by the DA’s office was a toxicology report showing that when Pierce was shot he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14, well above the 0.08 legal driving limit.
—
It’s possible to take an ironic narrative slant on the life of Maurice Pierce as the story of a risk-taking boy who would not live to see his first grandchild or ever get out from under the sway of his demons, who could never manage to follow his daughter’s advice and just take the ticket. People convinced he was the Yogurt Shop ringleader might well have imagined that a vengeful God had finally delivered justice. Others might wonder if, had he lived, he could’ve cleaned up his act and moved on.
My guess is, Maurice knew all along what lay ahead for him. Behind the high-wire shine in his eyes was pure sadness, obvious in every photograph as he sits there looking beyond the camera lens into what seemed to be his inevitable future, eyebrows pressed down at the outer edges like a soulful clown’s. Maybe it’s only because I know what was going to happen that I see something in that gaze that says, This will never end well, not for me.
Appendices
Appendix 1. Michael Scott Written Statement
[After giving his phone number, address and Social Security information and confirming that he has been read his rights, he continues.]
My name is Michael James Scott. I was born on 2-6 of ’74. I’m currently at the Austin Police Department homicide office at the Twin Towers giving this statement to Detective Manuel Fuentes and Texas Ranger Sal Abreo. I am giving this statement about my involvement in the death of the four girls at the yogurt shop on December 6th, 1991. I have previously given accounts of what happened in 1991 and afterwards to Detective Fuentes, Texas Ranger Sal Abreo, Detective Merrill, Detective Ron Lara and other detectives. Today I told Detective Fuentes and Texas Ranger Sal Abreo that now that I have confessed to my father and my best friend Patrick Davidson in my part in the girl’s death, I have been able to remember and I want this statement to be correct and truthful. These things I will clear up in this statement such as what I threw off the bridge after the murders. I had previously said that I threw a set of keys off the bridge. It was actually a cutting knife that I got from inside the yogurt shop.
When I told you that I didn
’t really remember what happened to the second gun, that small semiautomatic pistol, I do remember that I gave it to my friend Patrick Davidson in December of 1992 so that he could get rid of it. I did not want to pull him into this and that is why I had been so hesitant to tell you what happened to the gun. If something happens to him, he has nothing to fall back on. I will explain this more in detail later.
On December 6, 1991, I was with my friends Maurice, Rob Springsteen and Forrest. I wasn’t sure about Maurice and Forrest’s last name. I had been living with Robert Springsteen at his father’s condominium on Dry Creek Drive. I think the apartment was right across from the swimming pool. We were at the Northcross Mall sitting at a round table at the food court. Maurice brought up that he needed to get some money. I don’t remember the specifics about what was discussed, but I do know that this is what brought—what brought what all this to be.
Maurice and Rob talked about robbing a place. They said this would be the easiest way to get some money. I got up and walked around the mall. I remember being in the arcade, and then I remember coming back to the table and sitting down. Maurice got up and walked around with somebody. I don’t know who it was. I had seen him before, but didn’t know who he was. Ranger Abreo asked me what time was this happening. I don’t remember exactly what time it was, but it was still daylight. We were all at the table when Maurice said we needed to go and look around. I believed him to mean he wanted to find a place to rob. When we left, Maurice was driving his dad’s gray Ford LTD. Rob was sitting in the right front seat. I sat back behind the driver. Forrest was in the back seat with me. We drove around and looked at the businesses around the Northcross area. We drove up to the strip mall where the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop was at. We looked at the businesses that were at the mall. Maurice was the one that said something like “let’s go inside and take a look at the yogurt shop.” Maurice went in and bought a yogurt swirl, chocolate and vanilla. I followed Rob inside.
I sat down, and Rob came over and said something to me and we got up and made it look like we were going to the restroom. Maurice was up at the counter talking to at least one of the girls. I remember that he was talking to the dark-haired girl. Maurice was supposed to distract them. Rob and I walked out the back and walked around to the front of the building. When we got around to the front, Maurice was already in the car eating his yogurt. We drove back to the mall and we sat at the same table. It was the same table we always sat at. Detective Fuentes asked me if we were armed at the time we cased the store. No, the guns were left inside the car at the time. We sat at the table and—BS’ing with Forrest. We were just talking, not about what was fixing to happen. I remember eating some curly fries, and it was strange that I remember a large Mexican boy that we all knew in passing who had come—sit down with us. The Mexican boy picked up the container of catsup and started drinking it. I walked around the mall with Rob. We ran into Maurice again when we were walking around. Maurice told us that it was time to go. We got back into his car. Maurice was driving. I was in the back seat, and Rob and Forrest were in the car with us. We drove around the neighborhood more. I think we were looking for a route to take and there was talk about how often the cops drove around and if there was a general route they drove around in.
I know it was dark when we left Northcross Mall. Most of the businesses were closed when we got over to the yogurt shop. We drove across the parking lot and drove through the alley behind the stores. We wanted to see if there was [sic] any vehicles parked in the back, or if there were any people back there. I believe we even wanted to see if the back double doors were still slightly open. We drove back through the parking lot and then back to the rear of the store. I remember the building was on the driver’s side, the left side of the car. We stopped just past the double doors, not more than 50 feet past the doors. Maurice told Forrest that the only thing that he had to do was honk the horn if anyone was coming. Maurice pulled out his gun. I believe that he had it in between the seat. I know Rob had a gun because he looked at it before we went inside to make sure it was loaded.
Before we went in, Maurice told me to make sure that I brought the can of Zippo lighter fluid. It was the bigger metal can. Texas Ranger Sal Abreo asked me why I thought we brought the can of lighter fluid. I believe Maurice wanted to use it to cover our tracks. We went into the back door. Maurice went in first, then Rob, and then I followed them. One of the girls said something like, Hey, you, what are you doing? You don’t belong in here. This girl was wearing a T-shirt I believe that had the name “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt” on it. I believe that she was working in the back room when we entered the back. Rob told me to stop and stay right there and not let anyone out the back. We were all surprised because we expected to find only two girls inside the store and there were two other girls up at the front in the dining room area sitting down. I could see the commotion going on up front. I remember Maurice told me to check the front door to make sure it was locked. He also told me to check to see if there was anyone out front that could see us. I checked the door and it was locked. There was one key in the lock. The door was locked. I looked outside to make sure no one was looking in.
As this went along I got more and more scared. I heard the cash register open. I heard the drawer being lifted and slammed back. I saw Maurice at the cash register and I saw him put something in his pocket. I thought to myself that he had just put money in his pocket. All the girls were in the back with Rob. I looked out to check the front again. I heard Maurice say something like “Where in the fuck is the rest of the money?” I heard the girls crying and one of the girls said, “That’s all there is. It’s already been dropped and you can’t get to it.” I heard Rob say, “Come help me with this.” I went back there and he wanted help tying them up. When I went back there I saw that all four girls were naked. I believe this is the way that it was because I don’t remember pulling their clothes off. I went to the pile of clothes and picked up some clothes to use to tie them up. I remember a T-shirt and a bra that we used to tie them up. The girls were crying and whimpering. They were begging for us not to kill them. They said they didn’t want to die. I got a paper towel and put it inside one of the girls’ mouth. I remember that my finger pushed through the towel when I was trying to stuff it in her mouth. This may not have worked so I may have had to use something else to stuff in her mouth. It was white like terry cloth. The girls were on their knees. I don’t believe they were standing up because I was looking down at them. Rob told me to check the front. I went up front and remember what sounded like one of the girls trying to scream. Maurice was screaming, saying, “Where the fuck is the rest of the money?” I heard a bang, a crack. It sounded like a gun going off. I checked the lock one last time and I turned around to see what happened. One of the girls was already dead. I think Maurice shot that one. After the shot, Maurice said again, “Where in the fuck is the rest of the money?” And there was a second shot. I went to the back and saw Rob, and he had one of the dark-haired girls on her hands and knees and he’s raping her, raping her hard. I told Rob that this wasn’t right. That’s not what he came here for. Rob stood up, and I don’t know if he finished. I did not see his dick. I know that Maurice was not back there with Rob. Maurice had gone into an office and he had one of the girls with him. He was squatting down and I think she was trying to open a safe or something.
Rob told me to do one of the girls. I believe it was the one that he had just did. He told me not to be a pussy and told me if I didn’t, then I was next. We laid the girl on the floor and I got on top of her. I tried to do her from the front. I looked at her. I didn’t want to look at her face. She had a piece of white terry cloth towel on her mouth. I looked away because I didn’t want to see her. I couldn’t get it up because I knew what—that what I was doing was wrong. I sort of faked it to make Rob think I did her. I got up and remember either Maurice or Rob telling me to finish her. I remember grabbing the revolver from Maurice. He told me to finish her. The girl was still on th
e floor and I pointed the gun at her and tried to shoot it first but couldn’t. Maurice told me to do it or I would be next.
I pointed the gun again at the girl and fired once into her head. I remember Rob pushed me toward Maurice. Maurice was in the other room with the other girl. I don’t remember seeing a safe, but I don’t remember what she was doing down on the floor. I remember looking in the doorway and the gun is still in my hand. Maurice asked Rob if I did it, and Rob said, “Yeah, he finished her.” Maurice told me, you are in this neck-deep already. I saw the side profile of this girl. She had like a white shirt on. I think she had dark hair. Rob was standing right there and he had the small semiautomatic gun. Rob told me not to be a puss. I think I shot her in the head. I’ve been not wanting to remember this. I know I have told you had something different, but I did her too because Maurice and Rob were pressuring me. I dropped the revolver. Maurice was mad at me. He asked me where the lighter fluid was and I had thought I had left it in the car. He told me to go out to the car and get it. I looked at Forrest and then I looked at the floorboard and picked up the lighter fluid. Forrest did not say a word. I went back inside. Rob told me to burn the place. I saw the girls laying there and I pulled one of the girls on top of the other.
Rob was watching me as I gathered up napkins, cups and paper towels and piled them on top of the three girls. I sprayed Zippo fluid on top of girls. I emptied the can of lighter fluid. I had a Zippo lighter with me and I lit the fire. I heard a whoosh sound of the accelerant when it caught fire. I don’t remember what I did with the can. I could have threw it on the pile of stuff in the back of the store. I remembered that my only thought was to get out. I went outside and remembered that Forrest was not in the car anymore. I had taken a knife from inside the shop. I believe I got it off the counter. It was a nice knife. I told you all before that I had taken a set of keys, but it was a knife. I remember now that it was a knife. Rob and I were already back in the car when Maurice got there. I asked Maurice where Forrest was. He said that he must have took off.
Who Killed These Girls? Page 38